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Former superintendent of Enders Dam dies in Christmas Day accident

By Sheri HinkThe Wauneta Breeze Eighty-year-old James Sughroue of Indianola was pronounced dead at the scene after a two-car vehicle accident approximately five miles east of Palisade on Christmas morning. Sughroue, his wife, Leah, and grandson, Patrick, were traveling west on Highway 6 from Indianola to a family Christmas gathering in Imper­ial. According to Nebraska State Patrol Trooper Dan Thompson, the collision occurred when a 1997 Dodge pickup driven by Dawn Pinkal, 17, of Palisade lost control on the icy roads, crossed the median and struck Sughroue’s 1985 Plymouth. The accident occurred at 11:39 a.m. CT, just west of the Highway 25 junction. The left front ends of the two vehicles collided. Pinkal’s pickup came to a stop in the west-bound lane of the highway and Sughroue’s Plymouth came to a stop in the north ditch. Both vehicles received extensive damage and were totaled. A State Patrol spokesperson reported Pinkal, a senior at Wauneta-Palisade High School, was uninjured in the accident. Pinkal and Sughroue’s passengers, Leah, 77, and Patrick, 12, the youngest son of the late Jimmy Sughroue and Ramona Sughroue, also of Indianola, were taken by ambulance to Community Hospital in McCook. Family members report Leah was flown from McCook to Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney. As of Wednesday morning, the family reported her condition as critical but stable. Patrick was kept at the hospital in McCook for observation. Family members reported he was doing well and was expected to be released from the hospital Wednesday this week. Sughroue served as superintendent at Enders Dam from 1968 until the early 1980s, according to his daughter, Jeanette Munger of Imperial. “My dad knew a lot of people and had a lot of friends in the area,” said Munger. The Sughroues were traveling to Imperial to have Christmas dinner with Munger and her family.Rosary and funeral service Munger, Sughroue’s daughter, stated rosary for her father will be said at 7 p.m. CT Friday, Dec. 28, at St. Catherine’s Catholic Church in Indianola. Funeral services will be Saturday, Dec. 29, at 10 a.m. CT, also at St. Catherine’s.